By Dr Laurent Legendre and Eric Partrat

Unfortunately, it is a fact of life that if you grow Pinguicula there will always be the possibility of an insect infestation, hostile or not for our plants and/or a disease.

By taking a few simple precautions, we can lessen the chances of insects or diseases threatening our Pinguicula considerably.

  • Always use clean pots and planters when repotting.

  • Always use new (or even sterile) potting soil. Using garden soil can have disastrous effects for exemple.

  • Isolate any new plants for a month or so, and check them frequently for signs of insects or disease. This also applies to any of your plants that may have been outside for the summer and that will be hosted in indoors terrarium for winter with others year round inside.

  • Promptly remove dead flowers or leaves as source of infestation.

  • Examine your plants regularly (daily is a minimum and I would also say sometimes when night as comes for catching night predators) and then, don’t wait for them to start looking sad

  • Proper watering, appropriate soil, care and fresh moving air make an healthy Pinguicula which is more resistant to insect or diseases problems.

Pinguicula Pests found in Cultivation

I build up this database with the hosts I noted in my own cultures.

I live in France so few hosts can change a little according to your country but we would be please to add in this database your local hosts also.

When your host is identified, click on the picture for the comments and “how to” section.

*- under construction - *

HOST

 AVERAGE SIZE

NAME : 

Scientific and/or Popular

STATUS :

ALLIES, NEUTRAL OR ENEMIES 

Ant (P)

N / E

Photo : link

 2 - 3 mm

Aphids (P)

E

10 - 15 mm

- Earwig (P)

- Forficula auricularia (S)

A / N

Photo : Vic Brown

40 mm

Caterpillar (P)

E

Photo : link

0.3 - 0.5 mm

Spider mite (P)

E

Snail (P)

E

Lady bug (P)

2 - 70 mm

Slug (P)

E

Thrips (P)

E

Photo : link

Whitefly (P)

E

16 - 25 mm

Crane fly (adult) (P)

E

20 - 30 mm

Crane fly (larva) (P)

E

Chinch (P)

N

Leafhopper (P)

E

Mosquito (P)

E

8 - 20 mm

Spider (P)

A / N

Sowbug (P)

N

Scale (P)

E

Worm (P)

E

Photo : from products.htm

Nematodes (P)

E

Fungus gnat (P) (larva)

N / A

90 - 130 mm

- Toad (P)

- Bufo bufo (S)

A / E

2 mm

Springtail (P)

N / A

Wasp (P)

A

Hedgedog (P)

A

Blackbird (P)

E / N / A

"Ping", my cat

 6 kg

Cat (P)

A / N / E

My daughter Justine

 820 mm today 

- Child (P)

- Homo sapiens sapiens (S)

A / N / E
Others ? ....